Device for compressing air



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. S. HUNTER. DEVICE FOR OOMPRESSING AIR.

No, 392,611. Patented Nov. 13, 1888.

ets Sheet 2 J. S. HUNTER. DEVICE FOR GOMPRESSING AIR. No 392,611.

Patented Nov. 13, 1888.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

J. S. HUNTER.

I DEVICE FOR GOMPRESSING AIR. No. 392,611.

Patented Nov. 13, 1888.

am==i==== wza Iii/I (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

J. S. HUNTER. DEVIGE FOR GOMPRESSING AIR.

Patented Nov. 13

N. warms. Pmwumo m hw. Washinglon, n. c.

ilurrnn STATES JOHN S. HUNTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DEVlCE. FOR COMPRESSING AIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,611, dated November 13. 1888,

Application filed February 15, 1887. Serial No. 227,744. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN S. HUNTER, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, and a citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Compressing Air, of which the following is a full description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation with the sink in section; Fig. 2, a top or plan view; Fig. 3, a vertical section on line or a; ofFig. 2; Fig. 4, a vertical section of the supporting tube or standard; Fig. 5, a cross-section on line 3 g; of Fig. 2; Fig. 6, a cross-section on line .2 z of Fig. 5; Figs. 7, 8, and 9, details of the air-check valve; Figs. 10 and 11, sections of the water-connection; Figs. 12 and 13; details of the watervalve; Fig. 14, a detail showing a modification of the stem for the balance-ball.

The object of this invention is to furnish an improved air-compressor for discharging and aerating the contents of beer barrels or kegs, and of other liquids where air-compression is necessary or desirable to preserve liquids, discharge them properly at either a low ora high point of discharge, and for such other purposes as this class of air compressors are adapted to; and its nature consists in the several improvements and combinations of parts as hereinafter described and claimed as new.

In the drawings, A indicates the sink; B, rubber or other suitable stops for the tanks to rest upon; C, hollow standard or support for the water-valve; D D, standard for supporting the tanks; E E,water-valvc case and valve; F F, flexible water-pipes; G, pivot-bar for operating the water-valve E from the tanks; H, tanks; I, pivot-bar at the top of the tanks; .I,

weight; K, flexible air-pipes; L, fork for con necting the air-pipes with the standard D; M N, tubes for connecting the pipes K with their respective tanks; 0, valve'case; P, ball-valve;

Q It, discharge-valve; S, air-pipe in standard D; T, water-supply pipe; U, waste-passage in the sink; a, openings in the valve-case O; b, passage for air out of the tank; a (1, checkvalve; 0, water-passage in the valve E; fg, walls of passage 0 in the valve E; h, nipple on tank for the ingress of water; 7:, relief-spring or packing for the valve E.

The sink Ais cast in the form shown or any nected with any convenient Waste-pipe.

provided with a dischargeopening, U, con- To the bottom of the sink are also attached two tubular posts or standard, C D, by any suitable means. The standard C supports the Water-valve, and is provided with any proper connection for connecting the apparatus with any suitable water-supply. The valve-case E is provided with suitable tubular branches for connecting the flexible pipes F F therewith.

The valve E is provided with a water-open ing, 6, which connects with the water-passage through the standard C, and has side walls,f g, for shutting off the water-passage e from the passages to the tubes F F alternately. When the valve E is in the position shown in Fig. 11, the water passes to the tube F, and when it is turned by the action of the balance-bar G in a reverse direction the tipping of the valve closes the communication with the pipe F and opens it with the pipe F, thus making a Very simple water-connection,which is easily formed and notliable to get out of order. The water passes through the watcr'pipe to the nipple h at the top of the tank, where it is discharged into it. When the tank is filled with water. so as to drop, as shown in Fig. 3, the stem R of the valve Q strikes against the bottom of the sink and opens the valve Q, by which the water is discharged from the tank,which then becomes refilled with air.

The valve Q is hinged or otherwise properly guided, and is packed so as to rest properly upon the seat when the water is to be retained. The standard D is provided with a head or cap, D, upon which the balance-bar I is suitably pivoted or journaled. It is also provided with an interior air-tube,S,which is connected with the pipes K by means of the branch pipe L, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The pipes K are connected with the tanks by the metal sections or tubes MN and the air-passages b and the casing 0.

The pipe M contains a check-valve having a body portion, 0, and an outer end or disk portion formed with a convex outward surface, which end is provided with a slit, (1, as shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9.

The parts 0 (I may be made entirely of rubber and of a single piece, if desired. WVhen the air is passing out of the tank,this check-valve will open, as shown in Fig. 9, and when the outward passage of the air ceases it will close, as shown at Fig. 7, so as to prevent any return of the discharged air.

Within the upper end of each tank is placed a valve-ease, O, which is provided with openings a in the bottom and side, through which the air passes at first, and as the tank is filled water passes within the valve-case and lifts the valve P up against the mouth of the tube or passage 1), so as to prevent the overflow of any water into the air-pipe.

The valve P is best made of a hollow rubber ball, and, as shown, is located within guides, so as to leave a space between it and the case 0, and also to properly direct the valve, as shown in Fig. 6. By locating the holes a both above and below this valve P the passing of the air has no effect upon it, while, as the water enters first at the lower openings a, it.

will be lifted, and when the case is filled with water it will be pressed against the top and close the tube or passage b. By this arrangement all of the air contained in the tank will be discharged and any overflow of water prevented.

The balanee-bar I is connected with the standard and tanks, as shown in Fig. 1, and at the middleitis provided withamortiseoropening which is larger than the supporting-stem of the metal ball J, as shown in Fig. 3. This arrangement gives the weight J a change of position, so as to give it a greater effect as it is shifted from side to side, and it aids in holding down the tank which is being discharged of its water, so as to insure a complete discharge of the water, or a sufficient discharge to admit the free ingress of air at the discharge-valve Q. This shifting weight will be found particularly useful when the tanks H are quite small, and the weight can be adjusted upon its supporting-stem by a setscrew, so as to halve a greater or less effect, as may-be de- Sllet The tanks if, when quite small, as they are for beer-kegs, may be made of sheet metal, and when intended for the purpose of discharging liquids at a high elevation they are made of a considerable size and may be made of cast-iron. The capacity of the tanks will be made to suit circumstances and to give the desired pressure, and may be as small in capacity as a half-gallon, or they may be made to contain several gallons of water.

By the application of the weight J, smaller tanks can be used than can be otherwise made available.

The tanks may be provided with openings V, through which the water may be discharged by removing the caps and swinging the tanks outward whenever such discharge may be desired. By this arrangement is produced a neat, simple, and eflicient apparatus for giving air-pressure, which may be made much smaller than any similar apparatus has been made heretofore and be efiicient, and which may be increased to any desired capacity and adapted to heavy or light water-pressure, as may be desired,without leaking and without the liability of carrying water over into the air-pipe.

It will be understood that the pipe S, after leaving the sink, may be extended to any desired length and bent to any desired position, so as to bring it where its effect or operation is to be put to final use, and that the waterpipe T may be connected with any waterservice pipe or with an elevated tank, as may be necessary or convenient.

The steps B are cone-shaped and are secured in place by passing them up through a cone-shaped opening in the bottom of the sink A and then holding them in place by a plate, B, bolted or otherwise secured to the bottom of thesink, so as to be in contact with the bottoms of the supports B and hold them against being driven out when struck by the bottom of the tank, and, as shown, three of these supports are used for each tank, and they form a bumper as well as a support for the tanks when down.

The bar G at each end has a pin which comes beneath the bottom of the tank, and this bar is secured at its center to the end of the valve E in any firm manner, so as to actuate the valve as the bar is operated from the tanks and turn the valve to bring the passage e in communication with the branch for the pipe F or the pipe F, as required.

The passage 6 lies between the shoulders f g and the opposite side of the valve between the shoulders f g is cut out, so as to leave a passage, j, which leads into a transverse pas sage, is, extending partly around the body of the valve, as shown in Fig. 18, and this passage k, as the valve is turned, communicates with the holes Z on opposite sides of the valveeasing E in line with thepassage k, and so that when the valve is turned the full face will shut off one of the holes Zas the passage is in communication with the other opening Z. The valve E, when turned to have its passage e in communication with the tube F, has its passage j in position for communication with the tube F, so that the air from the tank to which the tube F leads, which has been discharged, will pass through the tube F and force the water therefrom, passing out through the passages j k and discharge-port Z, and by having this discharge-port on the under side of the casing E it will be seen that the discharge therefrom will be thrown into the sink A with the water discharged from the tanks.

The tubular portion 0 of the relief-valve can be made of metal, and its end or disk portion with the slit therein can be of rubber, encircling the tubular portion 0, and this valve, as a whole, is secured in place on the tube N by slipping the tubular portion over the end of such tube, so as to be inclosed within the elbow M when screwed onto the tube N. The

IIO

tube S communicates with the passage 8 formed in the head D,which passage communieates with the passage which is forked to lead to the respective branches of the fork L, so that the air can pass to the tube S through the passage 8, and from that branch of the fork which leads to the tank being filled with water and from which tank the air is being discharged by the action of the inflowing water, said tank being the one which is elevated.

The end of the stem which carries the ball J, instead of being formed as shown in Fig. 1., can be tapered, as shown in Fig. 14, and with this construction the mortise for the stem in the balance-bar I also has inclined endwalls, against which the edges of the stem will strike as the ball is carried over, and with this form of construction a lighter ball J can be used.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with the sink A, the tanks H, having their lower ends provided with valves Q, and the tubular standard D D, having an inelosed air-pipe, S, of the hollow fork L,communicating with the tubular standard D D, the flexible air-pipes K, communieating with the hollow fork, the valve-cases 0, located within and depending from the upper ends of the tanks and provided with opennections M N between the valve-casesO and pipes K, said connections having air-passages b and check-valves c d, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the sink A, the hollow standards 0 and D D, located in the sink, the rocking arm I, the valved tanks H, carried by said arm, the shifting weight J, mounted on a stem pivoted in a mortise at the center of the rocking arm, the air-pipe S, inclosed in the hollow standard D D, the watervalve E at the upper end of the hollow standard O, flexible connections between said valve and the tanks and between the air-pipe and tanks, and the rocking bar G for operatingthe water-valve from the tanks, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the rocking arm I, the tanks H, carried by said arm, and the drop-weight J, having a stem pivoted in a mortise at the center of the rocking arm, whereby said weight and rocking arm are adapted to move independently of each other, substantially as described.

JOHN S. HUNTER.

Witnesses:

ALBERT H. Animus, O. W. BOND. 

